Parent Satisfaction With Public vs. Private Schools
This literature review examines parent satisfaction levels regarding public and private schooling, focusing on the criteria parents use when selecting schools for their children. Drawing on multiple empirical studies, the paper addresses three central questions: what factors determine school enrollment decisions, what barriers prevent families from accessing private education, and how parents utilize available educational resources. Key themes include class size, academic achievement, school funding structures, financial barriers for low-income and minority families, and the competitive admissions environment of private schools. The review concludes with recommendations for expanding scholarship and grant programs to improve equitable access to quality education.
- Introduction: Research problem, rationale, and three research questions
- Factors That Determine School Enrollment: Class size, finances, and academic achievement as enrollment drivers
- Barriers to Accessing Private Education: Cost, competitiveness, and impact on minority families
- How Parents Utilize Educational Resources: How parents invest education funds in private schooling
- Conclusion: Synthesis of findings and equity recommendations
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper organizes its argument around three clearly stated research questions, giving each section a focused purpose and making the overall structure easy to follow.
- It consistently grounds claims in cited empirical sources, lending credibility to assertions about academic achievement gaps, funding disparities, and enrollment barriers.
- The conclusion synthesizes findings from all three thematic sections, directly answering each research question and reinforcing the paper's internal coherence.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective thematic organization in a literature review. Rather than summarizing sources one by one, the author groups studies under shared themes — enrollment criteria, access barriers, and resource utilization — which allows for comparative synthesis and highlights patterns across the literature. This approach is a foundational skill in academic writing at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introduction that frames the research problem, states the rationale, and lists three research questions. The body is divided into three thematic sections, each addressing one research question using multiple cited sources. A brief conclusion restates the findings and connects them back to the original problem. The reference list follows APA format throughout.
Introduction
This literature review examines the satisfaction levels of parents related to public and private schooling today, with a focus on the criteria parents use to determine the schools in which to enroll their children. The research problem is related to a contemporary educational issue. Several research studies have shown that most parents are not satisfied with public schools, primarily due to differences in academic achievement between public and private schools. Generally, private schools are associated with better academic achievement than public school systems (Bragg & Chingos, 2017). The rationale for this research is related to the subpar education received by students from kindergarten through 12th grade. In most cases, the poor and minorities are disproportionately affected. This review therefore also considers ways of enhancing academic achievement for these groups.
This research aims to explore parents' perspectives on the educational opportunities available to their children. It provides the metrics that matter to parents when choosing a school and examines how families utilize available educational resources to support their children academically. The literature review addresses three themes related to the research problem: (1) factors or criteria used to determine the kind of school a child is enrolled in, (2) what prevents parents from accessing private education and who is most affected, and (3) how parents utilize educational opportunities and resources for their children's education. Three research questions follow from these themes:
1. What factors or criteria determine the academic institution in which a child is enrolled?
2. What factors prevent parents from accessing private education, and who is most affected?
3. When given the option, how do parents utilize educational resources for their children's education?
There are several types of education that young children receive in contemporary society. The choice of formal education largely comes down to two major categories: private and public schools. Regardless of this divide, what most parents want is for their children to receive the best possible education in facilities that will benefit them in the future. Currently, millions of students are enrolled in public schools from kindergarten to 12th grade (K-12), while others attend private schools. For this reason, many reform proposals for public schools have pointed to private schools as models worth emulating. Bragg & Chingos (2017) argue that private education primarily benefits students compared to public education and identify possible reasons, including smaller schools that allow for easier management and decentralized decision-making, both of which contribute to stronger performance in private schools.
Factors That Determine School Enrollment
According to Holmes Erickson (2017), various research studies have examined the fundamental differences between public and private schools to identify the criteria that make private schools the preferred choice for most parents. Among the reasons identified by Black, Ferdig, & Thompson (2021) is population size, which relates directly to classroom sizes. Unlike public schools, private schools maintain smaller class sizes with a limited number of students, since they are not obligated to admit every applicant. Admission to such schools can be highly competitive. The advantage of smaller class sizes is that student-teacher interaction is greatly improved; teachers can pay closer attention to individual students, resulting in higher academic achievement. This dynamic is often absent in public schools, where large populations make it difficult for instructors to attend to each student's progress.
Existing literature also reveals that finances play a key role in determining the type of school a student attends. Public schools are generally more affordable because they receive funding primarily from local, state, and federal governments, which covers most of the tuition cost. Private schools tend to be expensive, limiting access to families with sufficient financial stability (Cahalan et al., 2021). Additional research identifies academic achievement as another major factor in school selection. Academic performance in private schools is generally stronger than in public schools, resulting from a combination of better management, decentralized decision-making, smaller class sizes, broader academic opportunities, and greater availability of educational resources (Reeves et al., 2017). The lower academic attainment associated with public schools encourages many parents to pursue private education for their children, as it more closely aligns with their aspirations for academic success (Schneider, 2018).
Conclusion
This literature review examined the satisfaction levels of parents related to public and private schooling today, focusing on the criteria parents use to determine the schools in which to enroll their children. The research problem centers on a contemporary educational issue in which most parents are dissatisfied with public schools, primarily due to differences in academic achievement between the public and private sectors. The review addressed three research questions: the factors that determine the type of school in which a student is enrolled, the factors that prevent parents from accessing private education, and how parents utilize education funds for their children.
After a comprehensive analysis, several factors were found to influence school enrollment decisions, including academic achievement levels, decentralization of decision-making, student-to-teacher ratios, and school management practices (Lergetporer et al., 2018). The principal barriers to accessing private education are the cost of tuition and the competitive nature of private school admissions, both of which disproportionately disadvantage low-income and minority families. The review also identified potential strategies for making private education more accessible to these groups, including expanded scholarship, grant, and student loan programs. Ensuring that such programs are well-funded, accessible, and accountable is critical to giving all children an equal opportunity to benefit from high-quality education.
References
Black, E., Ferdig, R., & Thompson, L. A. (2021). K-12 virtual schooling, COVID-19, and student success. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(2), 119–120.
Bragg, K., & Chingos, M. M. (2017). Who could benefit from school choice? Mapping access to public and private schools. Evidence Speaks Reports, 2(12), 1–8.
Cahalan, M. W., Addison, M., Brunt, N., Patel, P. R., & Perna, L. W. (2021). Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States: 2021 Historical Trend Report. Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.
DeAngelis, C. A. (2021). The cost-effectiveness of public and private schools of choice in Wisconsin. Journal of School Choice, 15(2), 225–247.
Holmes Erickson, H. (2017). How do parents choose schools, and what schools do they choose? A literature review of private school choice programs in the United States. Journal of School Choice, 11(4), 491–506.
Joshi, P. (2020). Do private schools improve public school quality or increase stratification? International Journal of Educational Development, 77, 102219.
Kahan, D., & McKenzie, T. L. (2020). Website representations of physical education and physical activity: Comparison of public charter and private schools. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 1–8.
Lergetporer, P., Schwerdt, G., Werner, K., West, M. R., & Woessmann, L. (2018). How information affects support for education spending: Evidence from survey experiments in Germany and the United States. Journal of Public Economics, 167, 138–157.
Papadakis, S., Vaiopoulou, J., Kalogiannakis, M., & Stamovlasis, D. (2020). Developing and exploring an evaluation tool for educational apps (ETEA) targeting kindergarten children. Sustainability, 12(10), 4201.
Pianta, R. C., & Ansari, A. (2018). Does attendance in private schools predict student outcomes at age 15? Evidence from a longitudinal study. Educational Researcher, 47(7), 419–434.
Reeves, A., Friedman, S., Rahal, C., & Flemmen, M. (2017). The decline and persistence of the old boy: Private schools and elite recruitment 1897 to 2016. American Sociological Review, 82(6), 1139–1166.
Schneider, B. (2018). Parents, their children, and schools: An introduction. In Parents, their children, and schools (pp. 1–12). Routledge.
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